Save All Your Love
by Reverie-sama
Summary: CHAPTER TWO POSTED! AU Kaoru is geisha in the time that Kenshin is an assassin. Will love grow between a hitokiri and the most popular geisha in Gion? What will Kaoru's danna have to say about this?
1. Default Chapter

* **New** * A/N: Hello again! I decided to edit this first part of "Save All Your Love" because as I kept reading through it there were too many glaring errors and it was just driving me nuts! ^^;; So here is the new and improved chapter with a title. * sparkles * Special thanks to Aozora for correcting my historical inaccuracies and for informing me about the order of dressing for a geisha. Keep in mind it has been almost a year since I have read the book _Memoirs of a Geisha_, from which the idea for this fic sprung. I shall try to be more researched in future chapters. Thank you also to all of you who have reviewed so far. I am overwhelmed already at the response to this fic. It means a lot to me. * bows * Enjoy! For those of you who have read this once already, I recommend another read through for new details that I added and some I clarified. Take care minna-san! * bows deeply * You honor me with your reviews. * ^___^ *

Original A/N: Greetings All! Yes I have another fic, but as is obvious by the length of this chapter I have been working on it for quite awhile. This is also another series. Woohoo! The idea came to me after reading Memoirs of a Geisha by Arther Golden (sooo good!) so I hope you like it. I shall try to explain any customs that those of you reading may not understand if you don't know about the culture of Geisha. Also this fic is a tad bit A/U even though it takes place in Kyoto it puts Kaoru in the time of the Revolution and just a few years younger than Kenshin. And Kaoru may seem a little OC than normal, but I believe after years of formal geisha training she might act like this. Don't worry though she isn't as broken in spirit and demure as she may seem. ^.~ Enjoy and please tell me what you think!

"Save All Your Love"

By: Reverie-sama, The Dream Angel

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin nor the characters that belong to the story as much as I wish I did. I also don't own the lyrics to "Save All Your Love."

"Save All Your Love"

'I wake in the night

to find you're on my mind,

deep in a dream you'll always be

until the end of time.

I look in your eyes.

They touch my soul.

My love is hard to hide.

I'm never alone when we're apart,

I feel you by my side.

Here in my heart,

where no one else will ever be

I know who you are

so lock the door and throw away the key.

Save all your love, save your love for me

When I'm alone at night

you're all I see.

When I'm alone at night

you're all I see.

I wake from a dream

and see you by my side.

I cannot belong to someone else

when holding you feels so right.

And here in my heart,

where no one else will ever be.

We've made it so far.

So lock the door and throw away the key. Yeah…

Save all your love, save your love for me

When I'm alone at night, you're all I see.

Save all your love, save your love for me.

Don't turn your back on me,

you're all I need.

I know who you are

We've come so far.

So, baby, stay with me!! Yeah!!

Save all your love, save your love for me

When I'm alone at night,

you're all I see.

Save all you love, save your love for me

Don't turn your back on me,

you're all I need.

Save all your love,

Save all your love.

Save all your love.

Save, save, save all your love!

Save your love.

Baby save all your love!!

Save all your love!!!' 

~ Great White (also covered by The Scorpions)~

Part I: Destiny's Prelude

Her eyes opened wide to the world's dim reality and ingrained superstitions made her seek out her almanac in the pale silver light filtering through her windows set high up on the walls. The rain drizzled outside catching shines and glints as it continued to whisper down to the ground.

She fumbled over the pages, fingers sticking to one or pages stuck together as she sought tomorrow, no, today's date. For surely it was morning.

Pages crinkled, yellowed with constant seeking, probing into the future. At last, she found her birth year and the day.

Eyes flitted anxiously down the page, peering beyond the veil into the future.

The words there only increased her chill. She fought to steady her hands as she shook from the letters bold on the page even in the pale night incandescence scattered through the rain.

_A day of destiny, good for attending parties, but beware, Death awaits you around the corner. Decisions center on today. Choose wisely._

Tonight she was to bind herself into folds and layers of carefully preserved silk. Her newest and finest attire would be taken from the storage house. Tonight, Kaoru would come face to face with the Imperialist generals currently residing in Kyoto.  The new regime that clenched its fist over the county had invited her personally to attend tonight's banquet. 

Surely, it would be just like any other party. She need not worry.

But the way the rest of the night passed did not ease her mind. Time seemed to be in a rush to leave her in his wake, and sleep was impossibly elusive. 

As dawn rose she donned her mask and proceeded through the routine of the day. She took breakfast in her room and proceeded to dress for the day. Her errands only mildly occupied her mind. And soon the sun was beginning to dip in the sky the clouds tinged as sakura blossoms in the spring.

She returned to the house carrying her purchases. Her scalp still stung from having her hair freshly and exquisitely styled swept off her neck in an elaborate bun combination. She removed her stilted shoes upon crossing the thresh hold. She climbed the stairs slowly and with purposeful grace. She knelt beside the shoji to her room and opened it quietly. Inside she found her kimono dresser, Soujiro, sipping tea. A large box rested beside him open and waiting. 

Soujiro smiled and greeted Kaoru quietly. She forced a smile back, greeting him in return with a bow. 

"Shall we begin now, Kaoru-chan?" he inquired, indicating the box that contained her attire for the evening.  The beautiful cobalt blue kimono with the patterns of rushing water and waterfalls, silver green reeds, the moon and fireflies dancing, shimmering over the water was an exquisite addition to her collection and by far her favorite. It was a most gracious gift from her danna. 

She nodded her ascent and slowly began the process of changing.

*                                              *                                              *                                  *

Upon her face she had applied the white face paint until her complexion stared back at her bare, stark. She looked the part of a ghost. That thought made her shudder, recalling the fateful lines she had read over in the night. The usually trusted friend had stabbed her in the back in the height of her glory. Slowly she began again this time drawing on her eyebrows and painting her lips.

When she had finished, she stood and allowed Soujiro to help her into the pale pink under robe. 

Then he stepped away to retrieve her outer robe. She vaguely heard his murmured praises of the beautiful selection.

"Kaoru-chan, truly your danna has exquisite taste in kimono." 

She smiled slightly to acknowledge his praise. It was actually her taste he praised. Her danna merely provided the money for her newest kimono, telling her to buy whatever kimono pleased her best. This was certainly the most beautiful kimono she had ever seen in her life. 

Soujiro held the robe open as she threaded her arms into the sleeves. Once she had it on, he began to tie the robe closed and begin his real job of tying her obi.

She stood still as the wound the pale pink obi around her hidden waist, a match for the under robe peeping out from underneath her collar. Pearl flowers dangled silently from her hair ornaments.  

Soujiro paused in his quest to finish the knot in her obi.

"Kaoru-chan? Daijoubu ka?" he asked, staring at her through the looking glass.

She did not reply. She simply stared on behind her eyes, really thinking about nothing but the ominous phrase that seemed burned in her thoughts. No matter how hard she tried the beliefs instilled into her chorused for her to not to classify the warning as false.

He gave up reaching her and resumed his job.

But she was not to be left in peace. A hand shook her awake. The sudden clink of pearl flowers caught her attention. 

"What's wrong?" demanded her "Mother", the owner of the house. It always perturbed her when her _investment _was this out of it.

Kaoru smiled the smile that Mother had taught her years ago, the smile that could say anything. 

She gave Kaoru a little glare before turning back to the dresser. "Hurry up.  She needs to leave soon."

The obi tightened further as Soujiro finished touching up the knot. Her waist and chest were constricted. Breath was a little hard to draw.

They led her over to her full-length gilded mirror, another gift from her danna. She couldn't help but think, as she gazed at herself, that beauty had a price and how it was extracted was left for to fate decide.

Soujiro offered his praises again over the quality of the kimono and how well its dark background suited her deep blue eyes.

Satisfied, Mother turned to allow Kaoru down the stairs. Kaoru small-stepped down the stairs holding up the hem of her kimono to don her geta. At the bottom of the stairs one of the young girls who had recently began boarding with them knelt patiently. She would be by the door in the same spot when Kaoru came home. It was her vigil for the night. 

Mother followed soon after and assisted Kaoru in putting on her shoes. Then she took the flint from a small shelf beside the door. The flint cracked together and the sparks streaked and singed. Little kisses of the sparks clung to her neck as she left the doorway and walked out on the street. Sparks for luck, for prosperity, for wealth, for life.

The room was bright with laughter and the hazy breath of men far-gone on sake. The geishas working the party partook as well, reveling in the intoxicating fire liquid, ever ready to pour more to a man who might desire it.

Even though this party reacquainted her with power, the geisha Kaoru found it rather redundant of any other party she had attended. While power bound these men above the rest, drunk men were all the same with their wandering hands, roving eyes and lewd comments.

But smiling, she was always smiling, keeping her thoughts of distaste to herself. The thrill of being successful and her company being one of the most sought after by important guests to Kyoto allowed her to tolerate it all. She merely was content with that.

Soon the men sought beauty in other forms, even sake could not completely divide them from their cultural sides.

"Kaoru. My dear, let's have some of your beautiful dance," one general phrased well under six shou of sake, one of the lesser drunkards. 

She turned her smile to him and nodded her approval of the request.

Everyone knew of her skill. Kaoru was raved as one of the best dancers in the city of Kyoto, some even said in Japan. It was said she surpassed her teacher after only four lessons and a new instructor had to be sent for immediately.

But Kaoru was gifted well beyond a usual geisha who could usually only dance or sing while accompanying herself on the shamisen.  She could do both to meet even the hardest of critics' expectations.

She rose from her seat between the two high generals and advanced to the front of the room before the tables. Her stocking feet silently padded against the tatami mats. 

Another geisha, named Momoko began to pull out her shamisen to accompany Kaoru's steps.

Kaoru wrapped her draping sleeves carefully around her arms so as not to bedraggle her new kimono before her danna had a chance to see her in it.

In whispers she spoke to the youthful Momoko. Simultaneously, they turned to the audience. Kaoru's deeper tones inflected, "Moroku-san? What type of song would you have me dance to?"

The originator of the idea thought for what seemed forever. At last his drowning mind pulled forward an answer.

"Let's have a tragedy." Everyone in the room groaned their disapproval.

"Why depress such good times, Moroku-sama? Should we not enjoy our victory?" a young lieutenant questioned.

"Our evening has been too bright with laughter especially in light of the war that has only come to a pause, Shinji." The young man cringed at his name. "Besides, we are still missing our guest of honor. I feel ashamed to have such joy in his absence.

Turning back to Kaoru, he continued, "Please choose a song for me, Kaoru-chan."

Her eyes flickered for a second with ominous darkness. She quickly glazed over the display and regained composure. Pouting slightly she questioned the general. "Moroku-san, gomen ne, demo, I thought that all our guests had arrived for the evening."

"Iie. We still lack one in our party." Suddenly an amused smile broke over his lips. "Though I thought we were doing a good job of keeping you lovely ladies entertained without him."

She laughed coyly, like a shrine bell, one hand placed delicately between lips and her audience. Her sleeves slid slightly revealing the back of a tantalizing wrist usually carefully hidden under folds of silk.

In their eyes and minds the men devoured that glimpse of flesh and Kaoru knew that she had recaptured their attention. She had not lost her touch in their drunken haze laced with her own dark forebodings.

"No more delaying now, Kaoru. Enlighten us, please," a husky voice interrupted. 

Everyone turned to behold the newcomer at the door, whose quiet entrance no one had even noticed. A tall lithe man stood, leaning against the shoji. He was dashingly handsome with his hair bound up on top of his head and brown eyes laughing. His grin was charming, yet his teeth seemed to make one think he would bite as soon as he had you unawares. But this smile and these eyes were only on Kaoru.

"Shishio-sama," she said gaily. "So you are the mysterious guest we have been waiting for."

In quiet obedience she bowed deeply to the floor from where she knelt to her danna, Shishio Makoto. He had somehow managed to amass a fortune even in these hard times of the war and so became a man of power. She was his.

Somehow she felt safer knowing her missing guest was her own danna. It appeared to her that fate's blundering wind had misdirected her conclusions. She felt guarded in his eyes.

"Come, Kaoru-chan, let us not keep these men waiting. I want to see how elegantly your kimono suits the dance."

"Shishio! Welcome to our party! I didn't know you would stop by," another general, Takamori, greeted him. One of the other geisha rose and led him quietly to a seat. 

He returned the greeting, explaining that he had been in the neighborhood and decided to stop by to say hello. The geisha beside him quietly poured his sake. 

A cold shudder passed lethally through Kaoru's frame. _Shishio-sama was not the guest they were expecting? Then who could it be?_ Her danna was an uninvited surprise. Inwardly her mind raced with worry and concern though outwardly her movements were as slow and graceful as the water running smoothly on her kimono. 

Placid. Calm. Serene. This is the way a geisha should always be perceived by others around her. 

Her mantra helped to calm her nerves and she began to feel secure enough in herself to begin. She smiled at Shishio, "As you wish, Shishio-sama." She bowed and nodded to Momoko to begin the tragic melody.

The rhythm was slow, soft and sharp. A song with words and meaning that crept slowly upon the heart only to pounce upon it and tear it to shreds with the melancholy.

Kaoru began slowly, winding her hands with twining perfection no one could teach.

The song spoke of Kaguya Hime as she was bound to earth, happy to be with ones who loved her, but she cried out for her home and her true heart's desire, a choice. Without realizing it the words began to drip from her lips. She became the moon princess, the goddess pleading to return home to her family, honor, her domain. Selfish love kept her tied down here, as did obligation. She did not have the freedom of choice.

_Never fall in Love._

Mother's cold words resonated in her mind. Never love.

 _A geisha must possess her heart at all times. This is the rule above all others that should never, can never be broken. A geisha exists on her own plane, upon a higher level than mortal men, yet lower than the gods. Take a lover and you're finished here._

Such rules had always existed. It made perfect sense. No man would ever truly own her as long as she possessed her heart. A man could hold her body for a time but not her. 

_I will never fall in love. I do not need such frivolous things._

The moon was her true home, where she belonged, but the Earth would not release her, so spellbound by her presence. 

Ties would unravel with time and masks must fall, but the mask this Kaguya wore to dance and sing her lament was one of truth where everyone thought it a façade.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A dry silhouette walked purposefully and quickly through the streets. He had waited until the darkness had swallowed the majority of the pedestrians into homes or teahouses. He didn't like to stand out. It undermined surprise.

He really didn't know why he should attend a party at such a critical time in the war, but it wasn't like he could disobey orders. Perhaps some good company would chase away some of the shadows that came in the night. 

Briskly his strides followed the dark dirt streets lit by lanterns and the occasional interior light from a restaurant or brothel. More distance still lay ahead before he reached Gion and his destination. 

"Oh yes and there is still that one thing I have to take care of first," he whispered to himself. Quickly, the agile young man disappeared into the silent shadows. 

The moon looked on as another older more portly man turned the corner into the brothel district. He glanced, reassured, around him as he approached his favorite house. Indecent thoughts preoccupied his senses so that he missed the stealth of his stalker. 

She hid her face behind a cloud as the sword dashed through gluttonous flesh with nothing but a strangled gurgle of protest from the victim. His brown eyes were open and vacant as many the assassin had seen in his few years of killing. The man could no longer tell anyone that he was murdered by an infamous hitokiri for his sins.

"Himura Battousai," the young red-haired man finished for him. He flung the blood from his blade before sheathing his katana. Silently, he offered a prayer for his victim's soul.

He turned his back on the corpse, his task done. The moon slid out from behind her wispy covers to reveal the remains left alone for a passer-by to find. She caught a flash of the cause before he took quietly to the shadows, once more heading for the opulence of Gion. And perhaps she could hear his whispered, "Forgive me."

He entered the teahouse with its flickering lanterns and bustling waitresses flying to fill orders for green tea, rice balls, sushi and, of course, sake. In the doorway he stood and went unnoticed for quite some time.

At last one of the hostesses reappeared at the entrance where he stood awaiting direction. She studied him intently as he inquired where the party could be found. Then her eyes rested on the swords by his side. Suddenly she became flighty and nervous.

"Sir, gomen nasai. Demo, I cannot allow you back into any of our rooms until you check your weapons with me. This teahouse forbids brawls of any kind."

"I see." He paused, seeming to consider every consequence in two blinks. While he thought it odd, he gave her a polite smile that softened the glint in his eyes and offered her both of his swords in the same motion. "I understand in times like these you can't be too careful. You have a reputation to maintain and guests to please. I do not want to cause trouble, that I do not."

Blushing slightly, she tucked a stray piece of her black hair behind her ear before she took the swords from his hands. His eyes sparked for an instant as he released the swords to her custody and then died in the next instant to a stunning purple. He followed her movements, noting where she left his swords. _Just in case,_ he thought. 

When she returned, the frazzled hostess led him down the hall towards the room he was seeking. The young man followed with less fluid movements than when he had walked in, as though some great weight were absent from his body that he was accustomed to bearing.

Not too long into their venture, the hostess had to leave the young man to assist some of the waitresses. She instructed him on how to reach the room and apologized fervently for leaving him on his own. 

He just smiled at her, the smile creasing the cross-shaped scar on his left cheek and shrinking his now polite violet eyes. "Don't worry, that you should not. I can find the way. I have no reason to complain to your mistress, that I do not."

After nodding his head to her and the other ladies who had come to fetch her he took his leave and slowly sauntered down the hall of screened rooms. His smile slid from his lips as he progressed.

Laughter and sake spilled from the throats of the patrons into the air or was swallowed to burn uselessly in stomachs of those behind the screens.

Turning a corner he neared the largest tearoom. The hostess's directions had led him here and a new sound entered the spectrum of the others. It provided a harmony to the drunken joy. This song brought melody of melancholy, blues and indigo to the garish yellow and red of the teahouse district in general, to the whole time even, when everything was induced never natural. It was a time infamous for being the play upon the play of life. A play and a company that he could not stand for even though he himself played a major role.

He mused briefly, a real smile pausing to crinkle up his face and melt his eyes. This beautiful sound reminded him that he was an actor, the greatest in the world. 

Soon he drew himself out of the spell and filled out the role he had to play. He had to prepare before he entered the room. He knew this assembly waited for him, but the pause was necessary. 

With a sigh he carefully slid the shoji back on its track. What he was not prepared for was the beauty within who waited for him.

Notes:

Danna: basically a geisha's sugardaddy. A danna holds the geisha exclusively, paying for her time, her kimono, her food, her housing, gifts, etc… He also gets the privilege of sleeping with her if he so chooses. A geisha is only supposed to "give herself" to her danna. But some risked it for love and were often punished. Geisha are not prostitutes. They are educated women who are highly intelligent and talented at entertaining and strategy. A man must be approved of and very wealthy to even hope to gain the honor of sleeping with a geisha. 

geta: the stilted shoes geisha wear so as to not drag their kimono on the ground

shamisen: a guitar-like instrument that geisha  play

spark striking tradition: I just know that they do this to geisha before they leave the house. Personally I think it would sting a little but I guess after a while you wouldn't feel it as much, ne? The sparks are supposed to bring good luck. Obviously I am playing around with some irony.

The makeup and order of dress: 

Thank you and please review!


	2. Part II The Butterfly Meets The Flame

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin nor the characters that are associated it with it as much as I wish I did. *sighs * However I do own some of the random minor characters (e.g. Moroku, Momoko, Takatori, Shinji etc..) but they don't really matter.. oh well. ^^;;

Special Thanks to: Infinite Nemo for the pre-reading this chapter and offering her helpful criticism. * hugs * And for her semi-constant prodding for me to actually update. ^-^

The Butterfly Meets the Flame

He lifted himself quietly into the elegant tearoom, all the while savoring the last minutes of the songbird's stirring aria. The shoji clicked closed as the final lines shivered darkly in the air: _Love divides me as the bend forks the rushing river. The current carries me, drags me, and I am torn asunder._ The shamisen cried a few more notes for Kaguya Hime and then all stilled within the room.

The enraptured party had allowed him to step inside and close the shoji without drawing their attention. He used this unexpected calm to let his eyes shift quickly around the room, carefully noting all those in attendance, those faces he knew and those faces that he did not know. The mind behind the violet eyes quickly took account all those that could pose a potential threat just in case things should go awry. 

At last he turned those deep eyes towards the focus of the patrons and found the geisha he presumed to be the source of the tragic song prior to his entrance. The perceptive eyes widened ever so slightly, almost unnoticeably; he found himself allowing them to linger, studying her features and form.

It was plain to see why she held their rapt attention so easily. She was beautiful. 

Her pose was one of grace and poise that required great muscle control, but she made it look effortless. Midnight blue bordering on black tresses swept back away from her face in an elegant yet simple coiffure. The pale peach-colored pearl flower ornaments stood out like stars against her dark hair and matched her natural skin tone just barely visible above the mask of alabaster white and along her hairline. With her eyes closed, her white face was a dead accurate portrayal of sadness and longing. Her high cheekbones, long eyelashes, a full red lower lip and a graceful neck were all seamless accents to the genuine emotion that she radiated. He found himself absently wondering what color her eyes were. _Just out of curiosity_. 

Suddenly a drunken roar of welcome and recognition arose from the silence. Kenshin's right hand and eye twitched slightly in reaction to the surprise, but he covered it easily as he turned to face Katsura Kogoro and the two generals seated at the head of the table. 

"Himura! We had quite given you up."

He bowed at the waist, his topknot of fiery red hair splaying over his navy blue gi. "Gomen nasai, Katsura-sama, Moroku-sama, Takamori-sama. I had an errand that could not wait, that I did."

The two generals looked to each other seeming to deliberate over whether or not to forgive the tardy guest of honor, while Katsura maintained his placid countenance as he turned to his lovely companion for more sake, to which she happily obliged. He sipped the clear liquid slowly before turning his calm owlish eyes back to Himura.

At last the generals seemed to reach an agreement. Takamori swung suddenly and too quickly for all the alcohol in his system towards the still-bowing man. He caught himself before he could fall, although he still swayed precariously back and forth. The words came slowly but fairly clear from his mouth, "Nooo harm done, Himura. We j'st wen ahead 'n started whithout you."

Kenshin lowered his head still further before gracefully rising out of his bow to meet eyes with his superiors.

"It is a shame though, Himura, that you missed the lovely performance that Kaoru-chan and Momoko put on for us. Kaoru-chan certainly does live up to the reputation circulating about her." The steady voice of Katsura Kogoro drew the eyes of his hitokiri. 

"And what is her reputation, Katsura-sama?" He never claimed to be knowledgeable in the extravagancies of wealth and that included but was not limited to the reputation or rumors that circulated through society about a pretty geisha. It was a hobby that time just did not allow for. He was required to remember enough names and faces of enemies and cohorts so he could stay alive, and then there were those names and faces of people that clogged his memory who would never go away no matter how many times he tried to wash them away with sake. But he would admit that despite his lack of connection to the Pleasure Quarters, she was famous enough that her name did sound familiar to him. 

Katsura studied Kenshin for a moment before answering his question. He noted how much the boy had changed since he had become his hitokiri of the shadows. His eyes once innocent had become more haunted. In public while they strove to look polite and unassuming, an underlying edge lingered that had not been there before. Regretfully, he wondered if he would ever be rid of it.

"So you have not heard of our beautiful songbird hostess before, Himura?"

"Only vaguely," was the brief reply. 

Katsura smiled softly and indicated the open seat on the other side of his own escort. "Well please sit down, Himura, and I will introduce you to her."

Kenshin inclined his head to his master and proceeded to his seat. Once seated comfortably, the geisha to his right poured him a small dish of sake. He allowed himself a sip before looking at the beautiful geisha at the front of the room. To his slight astonishment he saw that she had already relinquished her dance pose and was instead kneeling demurely on the floor studying him with a very stunning pair of sapphire eyes. 

The quietly commanding voice of Katsura interrupted any further musings that he might have had about her eyes. "Himura, may I present the geisha, Kaoru, known throughout Gion and Kyoto as the finest dancer and singer to date." She broke eye contact with him and bowed. "Kaoru-chan, may I present Himura Kenshin, a fellow Imperialist and our long-awaited guest of honor." He bowed from his seat to her.

"It is an honor to meet you, Kaoru-san." His eyes met hers once more and he found something subtle in them that he had not noticed before. Beneath the carefully cultured mask he could see her fear.

She paused before answering in a melodious and carefully flirty tone. "The honor is all mine, Himura-san."

The room fell into a tense silence as the two continued to study one another. One feared the other while the other tried to understand where this fear had sprung. 

Again, Katsura broke the silence by starting a new game. "Himura, perhaps you could entreat Kaoru-chan to grace us with another song and dance." He did not fail to notice how his hitokiri's gaze lingered on Kaoru a little longer than necessary.

Everyone shouted his approval of the idea. And soon Kenshin found himself uncomfortable as the room filled with the rowdy encouragements to ask her. 

"C'mon, Himura, she won't bite. Just ask her!" came from somewhere and was met with many snickers and chuckles. He never understood why, but the men never ceased to be amused by his quiet and laconic nature, particularly when sake stole away their better judgment. They all knew they could get away with teasing him when they were drunk and stupid, and often pushed the envelope precariously close to the edge. But it often didn't take more than an icy amber-eyed glare to remind them of the dragon that walked among them. 

Suddenly a beautiful voice overpowered the din. "He has but to ask it of me and it will be his," Kaoru added to the jeering with a softly coy smile. Her breathing relaxed a little as she began playing the game she knew so well.

This drew out more than a few jealous faces and even more comments, not to mention a slightly startled pair of violet eyes. 

His calculating mind soon raced to soothe his startled eyes. 'An actress,' he smiled as he realized he had found another he could relate to among the party. And what an act it was. The mere thought of a courtesan, particularly a famous one, actually taking interest in a poor nobody like him was utterly laughable, even to himself. Just because he was probably the most famous hitokiri in all of Kyoto and perhaps Japan did not mean that it paid well. His idealism would not allow it. He killed to further the cause of the Revolution, to help others, not to gain a profit. Besides, he could never tell anyone who he was for fear of discovery. 

And yet, despite his logic, part of him coiled with lust to dream that a beautiful woman such as she might mean those words to him. He had known love once…

But he quickly closed that door. The thought was pleasing but impossible. It was nothing more than a mere shadow that blew across the moon.

"Kaoru-san is a good actress to be so nice to me after we have only just met." He smirked as his eyes registered a brief falter in her mask at the word actress, as though that word would shatter her illusion. But he replaced it with a blithe smile at her as though his statement held no double meaning. Her act would now cease towards him and he could place her safely back on the mortal plane in his mind. After all, he could not afford a distraction.

A smile uncurled slowly across her lips then; her face bloomed with some vibrant emotion. "Who is the actor here, Himura-san?  I believe it is you who pretend to know me so well."

Again the room was lost to the din of laughter. Kenshin simply blinked, stunned by her witty response.

His quick attack had been turned aside just as quickly as he had delivered it. The puzzle of how to defeat her intrigued his calculating mind, and he accepted the invitation to spar readily. Defeating a strong opponent filled him with a greater sense of satisfaction than if she had fallen at his first strike. He blatantly ignored the part of his mind that warned against further involving himself with a woman whom he found both physically and intellectually attractive.

"Hai, Kaoru-san, I suppose I am," he chuckled out, despite himself. "Would you please honor us with another song and dance?"

A/N: Holy Cow! I am soooo sorry everyone for taking eternity and a day updating SAYL. I am evil. Gomen! *bows and supplicates self to reviewers to forgive her * I also must apologize for the shortness of the chapter but this was a logical stopping place because the next chapter has oodles of fun. Unfortunately you will have to wait for me to write it. :P I'm evil I know. But let me stop my ramblings for a moment to thank all of you so much!!! OMG! 25 reviews! Yall have made me so happy because that is more reviews than all of my other stories have received *combined *. Amazing! Yall are the best and I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update. School has been mad crazy. * gives you alllll cookies and dances*

Next chapter I shall do personal thanks to each reviewer, but right now I am too tired and have a Chinese Oral exam to prepare for. Yay for the new chapter! Read and review. And thank you for your patience. I won't let you down. * bows*


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